Aussie swimming team in brutal selection blunder at short course world champs
Australia has sensationally missed out on a spot in the final of the 4x50m mixed medley relay at the world short course swimming championships in Melbourne after selecting an under-strength team for the heats. The Aussies were among the favourites to win gold in the event on Wednesday night, but didn't even make the final in a huge shock.
Head coach Rohan Taylor selected Bradley Woodward (backstroke), Grayson Bell (breaststroke), Alex Perkins (butterfly) and Meg Harris (freestyle) for the heats on Wednesday morning. And while it's not uncommon to rest the bigger stars until the finals in relay events, the selection gamble backfired spectacularly.
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With Olympic gold medallists Emma McKeon and Kyle Chalmers (who likely would have come in for the final) watching on, the Aussies finished second in their heat with a time of 1:39.41. They then watched on helplessly as they finished 10th overall, with only the top eight teams advancing to the final.
Australia finished just 0.4 seconds behind the eighth-placed Canadians in (1:39.01). The USA qualified with the fastest time of 1:36.83.
Aussie legend Ian Thorpe was critical of the Aussies' selection blunder. Speaking in commentary for Channel 9, Thorpe said the heat swimmers would have been “disappointed they haven’t been able to set up their teammates for tonight’s race”.
On the plus side, McKeon and Chalmers both cruised through to the semi-finals of the 100m freestyle. The Aussie stars are both favourites for gold in the blue riband event.
Aussie women break 4x100m relay world record
On Tuesday night, McKeon became the first female swimmer to break the 50-second barrier in a 100m relay split as the Aussie women broke the 4x100m world record. McKeon entered the water with the Aussies in third place and a second behind the Americans.
However the 11-time Olympic medallist overhauled the field to secure the gold medal for Australia. McKeon's split of 49.96 seconds marked the first time a female swimmer has ever gone below 50 seconds in a 100m relay split, helping Australia win the short course title for the first time.
"I always put my best races together in a relay - I love the team event," said 11-time Olympic medallist McKeon. "It's pretty cool (to go sub-50) - there's some incredible short course who have been racing years before me.
"I think Cate (Campbell) has got our world record so there's high calibre there so it's pretty cool to be doing 49 in a relay. It wasn't something I was thinking about, it was just about touching first. It's extra special doing it in front of a home crowd. It's great for the sport."
Australia finished in three minutes, 25.43 seconds as the USA (3:26.29) and Canada (3:28.06) rounded out the podium. Australia and the USA both eclipsed the previous world record of 3.26.53, set by the Dutch in 2016.
Teenager Mollie O'Callaghan said: "I wanted to try my best and do what I could do to try and touch the wall and give the girls a good lead. But at the end of the day it's a team effort and we all did pretty f***ing amazing."
As well as their gold medals, the Australian women also collected $37,000 for breaking the world record. There is a prize money pool of $3 million on offer at the event in Melbourne.
with AAP
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